


Time for the Truth

by romeoandjulietyouwish



Series: Lis Writes Merlin [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Finds Out About Merlin’s Magic (Merlin), Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Crying, Gwaine Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Hugging, M/M, Merlin Gets a Hug, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Oblivious Arthur, Protective Knights (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-18 04:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21854716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeoandjulietyouwish/pseuds/romeoandjulietyouwish
Summary: Merlin knows he has to tell Arthur about his magic. It goes so much worse than he expected.
Relationships: Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Lis Writes Merlin [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643812
Comments: 13
Kudos: 786





	Time for the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> My first Merlin fic! Please be nice!

After hours of endless riding, Arthur finally called for the group to rest. At this point, Merlin can’t even remember what they’re doing in the woods. All he knows is that Arthur woke him, Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot, and Elyan in the early hours of the morning and dragged them out here. 

But as he unpacks his bags, he finds something nagging in the back of his mind. A conversation he had had with Gaius only yesterday. He promised the man that by the end fo the weekend he would reveal his secret to Arthur. And Merlin knows it’s necessary and he knows that Arthur deserves to know, but he’s terrified. There’s a very real possibility that he could end up dead. 

Merlin takes a deep breath. Well, it now or never and since he’s just remembered and they’re outside of Camelot, now might just be the best time. 

“Arthur?” Merlin stops Arthur from where he is unpacking his bedroll. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” 

Arthur tips his head to the side, “What about?”

Casting a nervous glance at the knights, Merlin shakes his head. He doesn’t want to do this in front of them. “Not here. _Please?_ ”

Arthur must be able to sense his anxiety because he agrees and allows Merlin to lead him away from the camp. “You’re not planning to murder me out here, are you, Merlin?” Arthur quips. “Because I would be-”

“I need to tell you something really important,” Merlin can’t deal with banter right now. This is a serious conversation. Merlin balls his hands into fists and hits them against his head. “And it’s going to change everything you know about me and what you think about me. I’ve hidden this from you for so long and I really need you to know and to finally get it off my chest. So please listen and know that I am loyal to you until I die. However soon that becomes.”

Arthur frowns, “Whatever it is, Merlin, I assure you everything will be alright. Nothing you say could ever change my perception of you.”

Merlin scoffs, “Don’t say that before you know what it is. Don’t give me hope.”

“Then tell me,” Arthur says gently, kinder than Merlin has ever seen him. Maybe this will work out after all... 

Merlin takes a long breath. He’s really going to do it. He’s really going to tell Arthur. “I have magic,” Merlin says slowly. He doesn’t wait for Arthur to respond before he opens his hand palm up to reveal a glowing blue butterfly in his hand. 

Arthur’s eyes fall wide open. “You-you _what_?” In a flash, Arthur unsheathes his sword and has it trained on Merlin’s throat. Merlin doesn’t flinch. “You’re a sorcerer!” Merlin nods sadly. “I should kill you where you stand,” he growls. Arthur’s gaze no longer holds any of the soft familiarity it once did when trained on Merlin. No. These are the eyes of a killer.

“I would let you,” Merlin’s voice is calm and even, despite his racing heart.

“Merlin? I thought I heard...” Gwaine walks slowly into the scene, eyeing the sword trained on his friend. With almost no hesitation, Gwaine steps in front of Merlin’s left shoulder, between the sword and his friend.

“It’s okay, Gwaine.” Merlin takes Gwaine’s arm and moves him out of the way of the sword. Gwaine, too stunned to really comprehend the situation, does as Merlin wants. Merlin’s gaze never leaves Arthur. 

“Did you...?” Gwaine looks between the two men. 

“He knows.” 

“You know he’s a sorcerer?!” Arthur asks, looking wildly between Gwaine and Merlin. 

“Calm down, Arthur,” Gwaine extends a calming hand towards Arthur. 

“Calm down!? How can you tell me to calm down?! I just found out that someone I trusted with my life betrayed me! He’s lied to me for years!” Arthur gestures with his sword, inching it closer and closer to Merlin. 

“I heard a racket is everything...” Lancelot’s words trail off as he sees the scene before him. Without a second glance, Lancelot takes his place in front of Merlin, in front of the sword. Wordlessly, Percival and Elyan follow suit. Merlin doesn’t try to move them this time. Instead, he just bows his head, tears dripping into the dirt. He’s going to die.

“You’re all traitors!” Arthur shouts at his knights. “Your loyalty is to me!”

Lancelot shakes his head, “My loyalty is not to a prince who draws his weapon on an innocent man and a friend. My job is to defend the innocent, even if it comes from my prince.”

“He’s not innocent,” Arthur growls. “He’s a sorcerer! He’s killed people!”

“Warlock,” Elyan corrects. “It’s an important distinction, your highness. Merlin was born with magic, he has no choice.”

“And Merlin has never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it,” Gwaine cuts in, his voice sharp and defensive. “He had killed to save your life, all of our lives more times then we can count.”

“He’s a sorcerer,” Arthur growls. 

Merlin takes a deep breath, his cheeks wet with tears. He knows what he has to do. There’s only one way this can end. Merlin gently nudges Lancelt to move away. The knight does with a confused frown. Merlin says nothing as he steps past his protectors and comes face to face with Arthur and his sword. Under Arthur’s facade, Merlin can see the beginnings of cracks. He can see Arthur’s emotions bubbling to the surface. 

“I am loyal to you, your highness,” there is not a touch of humor in his words. “Only to you. I have never and will never inflict harm on you or your kingdom. I need you to know that.” Merlin sinks to his knees before his prince and bows his head, both a sign of respect and submission to his rule. 

“Merlin! What are you doing!” Gwaine cries. “He’ll kill you!”

Merlin doesn’t look up, “If he wants to, I’ll let him.”

Everything is still. No one moves. No one breathes. Then Arthur lifts his sword and brings it down into the ground right in front of Merlin. Merlin looks up, his eyes are still brimming with tears.

“I will not kill you, Merlin,” Arthur extends a hand down to Merlin who takes it shakily. “Not today or any other day.”

Merlin mops of his tears with his sleeves, “Thank you, my lord.”

“It’s Arthur, Merlin, come on,” Arthur rolls his eyes. He takes a deep breath, “I don’t understand you, Merlin. I don’t understand magic. But I-I am willing to learn. I am willing to change my ways, but only if you’ll let me learn from you. I never wanted to hurt you-”

Merlin cuts Arthur off by tackling him with a hug, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” When Merlin turns around, he finds the knights left them. He is a little surprised that they trusted Arthur enough to leave him alone, but he is grateful for the privacy. 

“I’m so sorry, Merlin,” Arthur whispers, still hugging his manservant close. “I didn’t want to kill you I was just scared and confused and hut-”

“You don’t need to explain it to me, Arthur, I understand,” Merlin pulls out of the hug and offers Arthur a watery smile. “I won’t hold this against you.”

“You really are the best of all of us,” Arthur sighs. 

Later that night, after everyone is fed and mostly sleeping, Merlin lies awake. Gwaine and Arthur are still sitting by the fire, talking quietly. Merlin keeps replaying the events of the day over in his mind. Arthur trusts him. He spared his life. Arthur is willing to learn about magic. Arthur accepts him. Everything is okay.

Merlin is just about to roll over to find a more comfortable position, but he hears Gwaine say something, “You love him.” That makes him still and keep up the ruse of sleeping. He wants to hear this conversation.

“I-I _what_?” Arthur splutters. 

“Merlin,” Gwaine has a hint of amusement in his voice. “You love him.” Where the hell would Gwaine have gotten that?

“I...um...”

“Relax, Arthur,” Gwaine chuckles. “It’s okay.”

Arthur sighs, “How did you know?” Merlin’s heart stops pounding. Arthur loves him? Huh. That doesn’t feel as bad as he thought it would. No. It feels nice? It feels...right.

“You spared his life. I know how much you hate magic. To give mercy to someone who lied to you for so long about something so big...it takes love.” Merlin can hear Gwaine shift against the tree he’s leaning on. “You need to tell him.”

“What? Are you insane? I just tried to kill him and now you want me to confess my feelings to him?” Arthur hisses, trying his best to keep his voice quiet. “I-I can’t, Gwaine. Besides...he wouldn’t...”

“He does,” Gwaine interrupts. And Merlin is surprised to find that he doesn’t disagree with Gwaine. Does he _like_ Arthur? No. Love. That feels more right. Oh my God, he’s in love with Arthur. “Trust me. He does.” There is a pause. “Talk to him tomorrow.”

Arthur sighs, “Tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my loves! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!
> 
> Tumblr- @romeoandjulietyouwish


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